"God will never leave you empty. If something is taken away, He will replace it with something better. If He denies your request in a certain area, its because He wishes to give you what is best. If He asks you to put something down, its so you can pick up something greater."

-Roy Lessin

I'm so bored of little gods, while standing on the edge of something large.
While standing here, so close to you, we could be consumed.
What a glorious day

I give up, I lay down
Rest my face upon this ground
Lift my eyes to Your sky
Rid my heart of all I hide

So sweet this surrender...

bah. ha. i'm sure God is laughing at me. This morning I was such a crank trying to get out of bed. I probably looked ridiculous fighting the covers off... but I prayed for a while and told myself to just make it through the morning with the kids and have the best attitude I could..and victory is mine! I made it and everything went great. now its 9 and I've got a full day ahead filled with work, gonna hit the gym, and get some college work done. This weekend I was reminded how small I am compared to God and how unworthy I am of His love. At church I was just thinking of all that God is and how glorious He is...and I had one of those, "wow...who am I to even deserve this?" moments. I have so many flaws and imperfections, but He loves me despite that and is helping me become better! Thank You God! I am so grateful to be signifcant in his eyes...or as the bible says, his "treasured possession." I am nothing without Jesus thats for sure and I want the world today to see how awesome He is. I've got people all around that are starving for purpose and true love..and they are looking for it in all the wrong places. I have the answer in Christ so I gotta share!

now off to spend one on one time with Jesus. I'm so in love with Him. I'm taking this journey of life one day at a time, making the most of everyday. Nothing else is worth living for but Jesus Christ! FGG

honestly...

...this past week has been a blur. i guess its sort of a good thing cause you know what they say, " time flies when youre having fun!" and i did have fun. lots of relational activities this week with family and friends.

i realized though something about myself this week, something that isn't a good thing:

i am really unproductive when i sleep in, even just for a little bit.

I used to be able to sleep in til noon, then get up and get lots of work done and have a full speed ahead night with productivity. I think that i've lost that niche. After this week, I've realized that I've got so accustomed to waking up early that when I get the luxury to sleep in...the whole day is shot. I stay in bed all day and have zero motivation. For example, this week i struggled with this because of spring break. I didn't have to get up at 6! But I had such a hard time getting out of bed. I would just lay there, hitting the alarm clock over and over again even though i had a ton of things to do. So what I decided is that I have to get out of bed by 9...otherwise, I will lay around all day and DO NOTHING!

so long sleeping in...unless i'm on vacation :)

sunny days.

its amazing what the sun will do to ya.. for instance, today at work, it seemed that most everyone had a new glow about them. I clocked in this morning as usual when my coworker Dave, as usual, asked me how i was doing. I replied with my normal "good, what about you." He replied back in the same manner (the typical morning greeting). we have an hour before we open that we set up the restaurant and usually in that one hour, conversation is minimal. Most people are trying to wake up, get everything ready, and "put on their game faces" as my boss would like to say. But today ended up being different and i'm convinced its because of the weather. After my normal clocking in experience, I stepped back into the kitchen only to say, "how can you not being having a good day with this gorgeous weather!?" Everyone agreed. the weather can be just a picker upper when it is as beautiful as it was today.

I will enjoy this weather. Not take it for granted! Windows down, jamming out. Going for a walk, and try to fit in a game or two of soccer tomorrow. I'm off now to babysit the little olsen kids and tonight i'm bringing along jordan, another girl I babysit who is 10. I'm bringing her along so i can teacher her some things about babysitting so that when she gets older she can do it. I pray that i can make an impact in her life and she will see how awesome God is tonight through the time we spend together. Adios!

i want to lay in a field, look up at the stars, and admire God's creativity.

summer please get here quickly.

discovering.

acoustic music and writing is a great combination. i could hang out in a coffee house all day long...reading books, sippin on a cappuccino, writing and thinking about life. i also enjoy a day out in the park, playing soccer, getting all sweaty, and being competitive. its weird how i find myself so satisfied and entertained in both environments even though they are drastically different. But i must take time to both: writing and working out. One without the other in life is out of balance. i must have my time to think and write...a form of expression. but i also must have relational time with others or even getting a good workout to keep the endorphins flowing. both are important for my emotional well-being. this is all apart of my design and the way god created me...interesting.

thoughts from a monday afternoon...

i'm loving life right now. i'm loving the rain. I'm enjoying the time that i am spending with friends and family. nothing is better than spending time with the people in your life who love you for you, even with the flaws...the people you can just relax around and be yourself with. I'm convinced you should spend as much time as you can with them, while you have time to do it! I'm enjoying the good laughs i've been having lately at work and with friends. Life without laughter is boooo. i'm enjoying the depth of my relationship with God and the growth there. I'm enjoying being 20, in college, doing what i am doing. I'm content with where I am but i am still hungry for what God has next. :) life is great.

It's so tight how time with Jesus can change the start to your day. I was exhauuusted this morning and had one of those moments where you say, "do i really need to get out of bed? Maybe i could call in today?" But i got out of bed and spent time with God. i was amazed with the transformation that i could see in myself. I was no longer tired and blah but i was ready for the day and ready to serve God wholeheartedly. I walked out the door with a smile on my face. I was ready to change the world and ready to please God. I had one of the best workouts everrrr today. I was a sweaty sweaty girl but i was loving the burn i could feel in my body. ((hopefully i will be able to move tomorrow!)) but its all for God's glory!

so now, homework will be next on the agenda. I'm going to get lots done tonight! maybe watch dancing with the stars with mi madre because shawn johnson is on it this season! we are big fans!

random thought: my sister is 24 today. this is craziness, i seriously remember playing together and sharing a bedroom with her back in the day. Time flies so fast! I'm beginning to believe people when they say the older you get, the quicker the years fly by.. happy birthday sis.

FGG

imagine all the people...

i've discovered this thing that i have with music. i find myself listening to my ipod and thoughts of God are stirring back and forth though the lyrics. so i thought i'd title this blog: "imagine all the people" after the famous song by John Lennon.

Now in this song, his heart is to see all the people free of war and living in peace and that the world would be in unity. He uses the word "imagine" to put a vision in his song of what he wants things to be like. Now, i'm not agreeing with this song in its entirety...but i do believe that this week i have had my own "imagine all the people" moment.

I think that God has refreshed my view of my life and the purpose that i am living for. When you think about the future there has to be a question of goals that you will be striving for. Everything you do will be based around this thing that you are running after in life. Well for me, I am running after God. I am a Christian first and last! I want to impact the world, not just in my words but in the way that i am living. So EVERYTHING is revolving around this life purpose of reaching the lost and impacting the whole world to step it up and live for God. This means that all the choices i make from now until marriage and from marriage to having kids and so on will be built around this life purpose of why i am walking on planet earth. My purpose is in God and everything I choose to do will be for His sake.

I've been thinking about what my dream world would look like. I've used the words "imagine all the people...." and i just throw in anything to finish that sentence of what i would love to see the whole world be like. Like, "imagine all the people worshipping Jesus at the cross. facedown, hands in the air...in full surrender." Mannnn. thats powerful. I mean if you even just imagined the people that you know worshipping God, let alone the whole stinking world! Just imagine every person you have ever met, seeking God in prayer each morning, meeting up with groups of other people to pray and grow, teaching the Word... imagine all the people...loving the way God loves, in mercy and forgiveness, not self-seeking but giving TRUE love, real love... imagine.

well that could be hours of thinking in itself! But on Sunday morning we sang a song in church service that I think depicts what I want the world to be like and this song just made me be in tears because this is what i want to see and this is why i am breathing every morning and why i am doing what i am doing: "we wanna see Jesus lifted high, a banner that flies across this land, that all men might see the truth and know, JESUS is the way to heaven!"

now this song is fun and we are jamming out to it at church and its great... but ive been thinking about these lyrics and imagining this and what it would be like! Think about it! I want to see Jesus lifted high, everywhere. Not that Jesus is just some guy, but that HE IS THE WAY TO HEAVEN. That all people would see the truth and know that Jesus is the only way. I thought about the people I work with, specifically the owner of the company was on my heart. I thought about him just praising God, lifting up Jesus. I thought about my family and seeing them just lift up Jesus and talking about their relationship with Him and how awesome He is. I thought about cable television and how every channel would be directed some how someway at God. So yeah, there could still be like the Food Network and Discovery Channel...and even MTV! But MTV would be music television of God...and that all the reality tv shows would be about real people living for Jesus Christ! That all the talk shows would be about issues with Christianity and the Bible and "how-to's" on becoming a better Christian. I mean..how tight would this be!?!

Imagine all the people spitting out things about Jesus left and right. There are just as many Bibles on the shelves as there are gossip magazines. There is rush hour traffic on Sunday mornings because everyone has to make a morning commute to church! There has to be a traffic report on television and radio to get everyone to church on time! people are flooding churches and on monday you come to work and talk about God some more and about how great He is and all that He is speaking to you in your life

but its easy to imagine and then the struggle is the follow up with action and pursue the change we want to see in the world. The deal is that it has to start with me. I have to be the change I want to see. Then I need to go impact lives around me and so they can see the truth and lift up Jesus. But I have to do my part. Step by step, one day at a time, making an impact. If you impact even ONE life, you have impacted the world. So that's where I am...just step by step taking ground in every conversation, every moment, every aspect of my life. But as i'm doing this, it all goes back to this passion that I have to see the world lift up Jesus and give Him the glory. That is my purpose.

ahhh...thoughts. Imagine all the people...

ooh so much to say...but....

i have a lot of homework to do tonight, so typing should be minimal. I have a thousand words to say and my brain has been racing all day, thinking about God...life...the future. but tonight won't be the post dealing with all that, it must wait.

mondays can sometimes be my "hard" day of the week. Its the first day back from the weekend and if i'm not careful i can be a real downer about it...i've realized this about myself, which is good because I can work on it. but today was great! its the 2nd of 31 days of a new challenge i am embarking on... maybe ill write about that sometime later too. ((so much to say, so little time!)) but yes, today was good. I worked out hard today, both lifting and cardio.It felt good and i listened to a bible podcast at the gym that reads one chapter of the old testament, two of the new testament, one psalm, and one proverb. its some good stuff! jesus is so tight!

i just praise God cause I can see myself changing and see how some of my persistency has paid off. Sometimes we don't always get to see how we are changing for the better but i thank God for the moments when you see yourself respond in a way that you normally wouldnt. You finally say to yourself "I am changing! i am making an impact!" those times are nice. i am enjoying it!

so thats the nitty gritty. i can feel God doing some awesome things and i am being challenged in new areas, left and right. I am seeing God move in my life in a whole new way. i am enjoying this journey i'm on and i am so stoked about what he has for my life. My task for now is to be ready and growing for whatever happens next..whether its in 2009, 2029, or years later. I want to be ready to be used by God!

FGG.